


Bargain

by Sanolyn



Series: Soriel Week 2017 [6]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Beauty and the Beast AU, F/M, Sorielweek2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 07:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11709444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanolyn/pseuds/Sanolyn
Summary: Not much was known about the castle at the end at the forest. However, as soon as his brother found himself there Sans had to make a choice.Entry for Soriel Week 2017 (Prompt 6: AU Day)





	Bargain

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 6. Time flies, no?  
> I really want to thank [ConfusedMuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfusedMuse/pseuds/ConfusedMuse) for coming up with this beautiful AU. I really hope this prompt suffices! It was very fun to write, at least. 
> 
> And as usual my beta [raritysdiamonds](http://archiveofourown.org/users/raritysdiamonds/pseuds/raritysdiamonds) is amazing and if you want to read well-written Soriel Fic check her out.

Sans usually prided himself on his ability to rationalize the wild theories and unnecessary myths the occupants in his hometown loved to make up and spout at random. They were mostly blown out of proportion, there to scare the little kids and make the ridiculous adults that came up with them feel proud and important. He never spared the old castle at the end of the forest any second thought.  
  
That was before Undyne got it into her head that something ominous must be lurking there and jokingly dared his brother to go there, and take a token back with him - all in exchange for a place in the local guard.  
  
His brother, ready to jump at any chance to fulfill his lifelong dream, had taken it seriously and left the next day. If Sans had known he would have stopped his brother before he could have left his house that morning. If only he hadn’t been so occupied with his latest invention, and had actually paid attention to what his brother had told him.  
  
It was just background noise to him then. He felt for once that he was close to reaching a breakthrough, finally able to leave this horrible close-minded place. Filled with people that didn’t treat his brother with the respect that he deserved, and treated him like an insane dreamer. Sans just wanted to see his father again. Wanted a better life for his brother and himself. Now he feared his brother wasn’t alive at all.  
  
Later that evening, Undyne had broken down his door and demanded to know about his brother's whereabouts. She was frustrated and angry, and had accused him of forgetting about what really mattered and being too much of an airhead to properly take care of Papyrus.  
  
She was right.  
  
He also had the feeling that she was trying to mask her own guilt with her overly intense demeanor, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.  
  
He immediately rushed into the forest. Undyne did the same, but after an argument about the castle's whereabouts they split up, both too angry at each other to properly converse and too worried to think rationally.  
  
He had never believed the castle was more than an old ruin of a time before him. But now, he started to feel a thick density in the air, as if a dark, toxic magic curled around him, ready to swallow his whole being should he ever stop running. He knew he was getting closer. He wondered for the shortest amount of time if the castle really was cursed like the legends said.  
  
With the change of air, a heavy torrent of water washed down on him. The looming treetops above were no use in shielding him at all.  
  
It was ice-cold, but he didn’t care.  
  
His shirt and jacket, his trousers and boots were drenched - no, soaked - but he couldn’t care.  
  
He constantly tripped over thick vines and slipped on the muddy ground in the pitch black forest, but he would not care.  
  
The only thing on his mind was his brother. His kind, enthusiastic and encouraging brother, who must have gotten lost here.  
  
He had to be somewhere around here! Unless...  
  
Sans ran faster.  
  
His soul sank further and further the closer he got to the actual castle. He prayed to the stars hidden from his view that his brother would be alright.  
  
After some time, he saw something bright in the distance. The castle was only a barely discernible silhouette in the distance, but the closer Sans got, the easier it was to actually see what caused the brightness.  
  
The weathered and cracked stone of the large monument was surrounded by beautiful flowers. They seemed to be the only thing that the moonlight actually seemed to reach, because the reflected light gave them a gold glow. An endless sea of sunshine in the pitch-black forest surrounding it.  
  
Sans felt hope.  
  
He didn’t know how, but he had reached the large and rusty gate. He threw his whole frame against it and almost stumbled into the castle garden.  
  
“PAPYYYRUUUS!”  
  
His soul was fluttering uncontrollably. The skeleton screamed his brother’s name as loudly as his abilities allowed him, frantically searching in every possible place that Papyrus could be. His brother hadn't entered the castle, had he?  
  
His search in the garden bore no results.  
  
There was no other way, then.  
  
Sans painstakingly climbed the ridiculously high staircase as he felt his magic running out. He desperately rattled the door knocker, pushing with his whole weight and strength again the ridiculously large doors, but they wouldn’t budge.  
  
They didn’t even open the smallest amount, and he slowly sank to his knees. He had no other idea where his brother could be. An overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over him, leaving him on the ground like a broken puppet.  
  
Why did he let Papyrus go? Why hadn’t he listened more closely?  
  
Why was he such a horrid brother?  
  
Before he could fall further into this downward spiral of self-hate and clouded accusation, he heard a loud creak. All the air around him was suddenly sucked into the castle as the doors opened with a flourish.  
  
In front of him was the creature of his hometown's myths, and he feared that he had gone insane or lost consciousness from the excessive loss of magic.  
  
  
His first thought was that she was beautiful.  
  
Her robes and her cape were tattered beyond repair and dirtied beyond recognition, but her fur shone a white that Sans had only seen in the moon until this day. She radiated grace and deadly power all at once. Her stature was poised, elegant and self-assured. Her deep red eyes were shadowed and old, but they held a blazing inferno within them. The golden shine of the flowers reflected in her eyes, and Sans couldn’t break eye-contact.  
  
**“Disappear,”** she growled. “This is my last warning. You have dared to intrude upon my realm and I should kill you on the spot.”  
  
Her voice boomed and reflected off the walls in the empty hall behind her. Sans should have known that she was too powerful to argue with, but he didn’t care.  
  
He had lost any sense of self-preservation with the disappearance of Papyrus.  
  
He held eye-contact and didn’t even flinch. He was too dazed or too desperate to turn back. Both, probably.  
  
“where is my brother?” he asked.  
  
He wanted to sound intimidating, cold and flat. However, his voice was too raspy and weak, his worry for Papyrus too strong. He despised how pathetic he sounded, even to his own nonexistent ears.  
  
If the Chatelaine noticed, she didn’t show it.  
  
“He tried to steal one of my flowers and therefore sealed his fate. Now leave,” she said.  
  
“no,” he said. “i won’t.”  
  
His voice wavered, but he kept speaking. “he didn’t deserve this. he would never have taken anything if he knew that it belonged to you, i know.”  
  
“That does not matter. A crime has been committed and punishment has to follow,” she stated.  
  
 “take me, then! do whatever you want with me. punish me, i don’t care, but please -"  
  
Sans' voice cracked at that point and he looked her directly in the eyes, for the first time in a very long time baring all emotion to another monster  
  
“set him free. he’s my family and the only one i have, please. i can’t lose him.”  
  
For a split second, he could have sworn that he saw her eyes soften. Empathy and understanding flashed for the shortest amount of time, before they reverted back to showing nothing but rage.  
  
“I accept. Under the following conditions. His life for yours. You will live in this castle and never leave. You will keep me company. You will never set foot in the areas of the castle I prohibit you entry to. My word is law,” she said.  
  
“will do,” he muttered.  
  
He didn’t even realise how light-headed he felt, until his magic stopped swirling so violently through his body and relief swept through him. Sans didn’t care what happened now. His brother was safe. He felt his vision blackening.  
  
Before he could lose consciousness, a powerful torrent of healing magic crashed into him, restoring his energy and slowly clearing the heavy daze that clouded his mind. He felt the harsh glare of the Chatelaine boring through him.  
  
“You promised your life to me and your life is what I want. Don’t you dare fall in front of my eyes,” she demanded.  
  
Sans could have imagined it, but he could have sworn that he heard the slightest bit of worry in her steely command.  
  
Her paws were surrounded by healing magic that was too strong to belong to a normal monster.  
  
He thought boss monsters had gone extinct a long time ago. It seemed that he was being constantly proven wrong today.  
  
Her magic was warm and despite her bitter attitude, he felt empathy and worry within it. He didn’t know how he managed to end up in her strong arms, but he didn’t feel like questioning her. Her fur was soft and she radiated only warmth. Sans found that he liked it. He trusted the closed-off Chatelaine, strangely enough. He didn’t know how or when, but he somehow managed to fall asleep.  
  
\--  
  
As soon as he had awoken, he was surprised how comfortable his sleeping place was. Sans had the habit of falling asleep in front of his latest inventions, so he was more used to unyielding wood than the soft flexibility of the pillows.  
  
Papyrus had always scolded him for taking his long naps in places that just left him crankier than he was the night before.  
  
_Papyrus._  
  
He pulled the heavy blanket off him and immediately scrambled off the king bed. It was ridiculously large for his small frame, and he preferred not to be reminded of his height. Then he noticed that his clothes were a little bit too large for him. Everything he was wearing now were articles usually reserved for a nobleman. They were covered in small holes and a little bit of harmless dust, but not soaking wet anymore.  
  
Had she done that?  
  
First, he had to find out where his brother was. Sans rushed out of the room he found himself in; everything he could see seemed ancient, but of apparently very good craftsmanship. The halls were kept in a surprisingly good condition and Sans wondered if the Chatelaine wasn’t the only one inhabiting the castle.  
  
Just as he had the thought, a warm light brightened the end of the corridor. As the lady turned the corner, he saw what was causing it: a bright flame was lit above her paw, tightly controlled and barely flickering, making the deep red of her eyes stand out even more and her fur shine.  
  
Her expression hardened, and Sans could see the shadows there too. Was she annoyed at being caught, at seeing him? Sans couldn’t tell. He was not deterred, however.  
  
“where is my brother?”  
  
She glared at him, but chose to answer anyway. “Escorted back home by the local guard of the area, searching for him. You do not need to worry.”  
  
Sans practically felt the tension leave his body. “i don’t know how much this means to you, but thanks. for letting my brother go. for doing this stuff.” He pointed to his dry and warm clothes. “for not letting me die, i guess.”  
  
“Do not think this was out of the goodness of my soul. You made a promise to me and you will keep it. I couldn’t care less about anything else,” she said.  
  
She started to turn around and he frowned.  
  
“what am i s’posed to do for you?”  
  
“Simply stay out of my sight,” she ordered.  
  
Her blood-red eyes regarded him with a silent threat and she left with all the grace of a queen, back in the direction she had come from.  
  
All logic about this situation seemed to escape him. Why did she agree to his bargain if she had absolutely nothing to gain from it? Well, he wouldn’t complain. His brother was safe. He hoped Papyrus wasn’t worried about him.  
  
The only thing Sans really regretted was not being able to see him again.  
  
Well, he would keep out of her sight and simply roll with it as long as it kept his brother safe.  
  
Though he couldn’t help wondering - what  had she been doing here anyway? There didn't seem to be anything around except his own room.  
  
She hadn't wanted to check on him, had she?


End file.
